The #23 Grand Valley State volleyball team wrapped up another winning weekend at the eighth annual Midwest Region Crossover Tournament with a 3-1 victory over Missouri S&T on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 17). GVSU had a strong offensive match to knock off the Miners, winning 25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 25-12. The 2-1 record for the Lakers marked the sixth time in eight years that Grand Valley State has went either 2-1 or 3-0 at the Crossover Tournament.
 
GVSU had two long contests on Friday, losing a five-set match to #19 Lewis in the early afternoon, but came back to take a 16-14 fifth set and top Indianapolis in the evening. On Saturday against Missouri S&T, the Lakers hit .262 offensively and served up a season-best 12 aces to improve to 13-7 on the year. S&T drops to 15-8 with the loss.
 
The Lakers were the #5 seed from the GLIAC, while S&T was the #6 seed out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Saturday's win exacted a little revenge for Grand Valley State, as Missouri S&T swept GVSU by a 3-0 score last year. The teams have played five times at the Crossover, with the Lakers winning three of the five meetings.
 
Overall, Grand Valley State is 17-7 all-time at the eight Crossover Tournaments, with winning records in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The Lakers went undefeated at the tournament in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013.
 
On Saturday, GVSU's offense was strong, especially in sets three and four. The Lakers posted 14 kills in each of the final two frames, including a .302 hitting percentage (only one attack error) and a .400 clip in the final stanza, with just two hitting errors.
 
Four Lakers reached double-digits in kills, as senior Kaleigh Lound and freshman Staci Brower each put away 12 kills and both hit .333 offensively. Brower recorded four blocks, tied for team-high honors with redshirt freshman Shannon Winicki.
 
Senior Betsy Ronda put down 11 kills and did not commit a hitting error for a .355 percentage. Ronda also supplied 12 digs and four service aces in the win. Her final dig pushed her into a tie for sixth place in GVSU history with Megan Helsen (1,297 digs from 2003-06). Classmate Jessica Majerle provided 10 kills, giving her a team-best 39 kills over the weekend.
 
Missouri S&T looked to be in control of set one with a 17-13 before the Lakers used a 10-2 run to take over with a 23-19 advantage. Brower put down two kills and teamed with Winicki for a block and freshman Kaylene Norris served up two of her career-best five aces during the run. Ronda and Lound added kills to close the first frame, 25-21.
 
Behind consecutive Ronda aces and kills from Majerle and Lound, the Lakers led set two by a 5-1 score. After the Miners tied things up at 8-8, GVSU rattled off seven consecutive points, the final six which came behind the serving of Brower. Ronda had two kills during the 7-0 run and Lound and Winicki notched a pair of combined blocks to put the Lakers ahead, 15-8. S&T, however, started to chip away and knotted the score at 20-20. The Miners would score five of the final six points to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Majerle scored the first two points in set three with consecutive kills and the Lakers eventually jumped ahead, 8-3. After a Ronda kill made the score 10-7, Norris served up back-to-back aces to up the advantage to 12-7. GVSU would hold a similar lead the rest of the set and score the final five points of the 25-19 win on kills from Lound, sophomore setter Katie Olson, Majerle, and Brower, plus a solo rejection from Majerle.
 
The Lakers raced out to a 7-2 cushion in the fourth frame, as senior Kourtney Wolters delivered two kills and Brower provided a kill and a solo block. Ronda's kill and Norris' fifth ace upped the score to 9-3 before GVSU blew the match wide open with a 7-0 run. Ahead 12-6, the Lakers ran off seven points in a row, forcing four S&T errors during the surge. The final two points of the match came for the Lakers as Brower teamed with Winicki and then Ronda to close out the contest.
 
Shomin totaled 24 of GVSU's 85 digs, while adding four assists and two aces. She was one of five Lakers to tally double-digits in digs, which included Wolters and her 17 digs, six kills (and zero errors), and five assists. Olson handed out 30 assists and picked up 13 digs, while freshman Taylor Stewart added 10 digs, nine assists, and a pair of kills.
 
The 12 service aces were the most by Grand Valley State since Sept. 6, 2009, when the Lakers notched 14 aces in a 3-0 win over East Stroudsburg.